Oct. 15, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Auburn men's cross country kept its strong season rolling with a second-place finish on Saturday at the 2011 Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama.
The Tigers finished ahead of four SEC teams in the final standings. Specifically, the men's team was led by freshman Niklas Buhner (17th place) who posted a new personal best 25:33.19 on the 8k course to lead the Tigers to 122 points - second behind only Georgia Tech's 83.
Falling in behind Auburn were fellow SEC members Ole Miss in third with 131 points, followed by the host Crimson Tide (fifth), Georgia (sixth) and Tennessee (eighth).
"We were happy with the result this morning, specifically performing so well against some quality SEC opponents," head coach Mark Carroll said. "The team and I are looking forward to training the next two weeks leading up to the SEC meet on October 31 and the chance to compete against the rest of our conference."
Senior Joby Peake crossed the finish line in 20th place in a time of 25:44.09. He was joined by teammates Samuel Mueller (29th, 25:53.33) and Kane Grimster (30th, 25:55.30) in the top 30.
On the women's side, junior Alissa Fisher continued her strong rookie campaign on The Plains. The Huntsville, Ala.-native posted her fourth top-10 finish in five races with a 10th place performance at Alabama as she crossed the finish line in 17:54.09.
Fisher was followed two spots later by fellow Auburn runner Elizabeth Briasco (17:57.47 - new PR) who finished 12th.
"Fisher had another good day and Briasco fought through some obstacles to finish with a new personal-best time in the 5k," Carroll said. "Just like with the men, the women's team is anxious to begin training and excited for the upcoming SEC meet."
The women's team finished in seventh place out of 25 teams with 237 points.
Both Auburn teams will not compete until October 31 when they will travel to the 2011 SEC Championships hosted by the University of Tennessee in Maryville, Tenn. For all the latest on Auburn Cross Country visit AuburnTigers.com.